Running through life while balancing healthy eating and single motherhood

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May 6, 2014

Shake-Out Run and AllSeated For Your Events

Everyone handles the day after a race very differently. Some take the day off, some opt for an easy shake out run or cross training session in the form of a walk, yoga class, light stretching or elliptical-type machine.

I have yet to take a complete day of rest after a race because I find it more beneficial for recovery to move around, loosen up and get the blood flowing.

Aside from slight soreness in my upper hamstrings, nothing really bothered me or felt as though I ran more than usual so I chose to go for an outdoor easy run.

It was gorgeous outside, I kept the pace around 10:30 min/mile and my mood was all sunshine and unicorns.

I reflected on the race and then thought about my blog.

I love this little blog. I love writing, I love making myself laugh, learning from my own posts and having a place to store all of my thoughts, recipes and memories.

What I really love though is interacting with all of you. It’s amazing how many friends (yes, I consider all of you my friends) I have made through writing every day and how many of you I feel as though I know so personally without actually meeting face to face.

I am always fascinated (and thrilled) to see my blog demographics.

Not that I am old (about to be 36 thank-you-very-much) but so many of you are in your twenties; a time in my life that flew by oh so quick yet was jam-packed with so many major life milestones that I can’t help but get excited for all of you about to (or currently going through) the same fun times.

I loved my wedding. I loved finding my dress, registering for a china pattern, picking my crystal and silver along with the towels and gadgets and all of those extra things that are still sitting in the boxes at my parent’s house.

I realize that I am divorced now but I can still look back fondly on my wedding. In fact, if men are good for anything, they are terrific for making you a bride worthy of prancing around in a big white wedding dress and tiara on your head.

I was the happiest bride not stressed at all by the planning. I have always had that knack for balancing things and keeping a healthy perspective in all areas of my life but I realize I am pretty unique in that respect.

It is much more normal to stress the plans, struggle to determine the proper venue, floral arrangements, band, music, dress, invitations and keep it all organized….am I stressing you just by bringing this all up?

The only person who stressed my wedding was my father. He was consumed by the seating arrangements. I didn’t care in the slightest who sat where but he needed to map it all out.

So I let him. It was easier to let him draw up the floor plans and seating arrangements and fax them to me relentlessly (to my office fax machine no less) than try to tell him to chill out.

This was back in 2001 when we thought fax machines were the highest form of technology. Things have changed so dramatically since then, haven’t they?

It was a big deal back then to be able to view your wedding registry on the computer. I never could have imagined the additional organizational tools that would become available, and, if you want to know the truth, I am kind of jealous of you all who get to play with Pinterest for your events.

Organization is super critical when it comes to smooth planning which is why I want to talk to you about a company called AllSeated.

AllSeated simplifies your event by keeping track of your guest list and allows you to play around and finalize the perfect seating plan all in one place with instant access from anywhere.

*AllSeated is available FREE of charge. Use it to view your venue map, build your guest list, and seat your guests.

*Instead of countless phone calls, faxes, and emails, simply invite the people you want involved with my planning and in seconds, they are part of the planning process.

*Everyone involved in planning the event has access to the service from anywhere, at anytime enabling them to make time-sensitive decisions based on the most current information, eliminating unnecessary errors, and time-consuming mistakes.

*Its ease of use means you can import your guests from your social networks and email accounts, creating your guests list in minutes.

The AllSeated website is extremely user-friendly. Once you sign up on their site, the screen prompts take you around to fill in all of your details including your event date, location, guest list and floor plan.

Many venue floor plans are already loaded in their library. If by chance your venue is not in their library, it is really easy to have the PDF uploaded to the site.

And, if that can’t happen for some reason, the amazing people behind AllSeated have assured me that they can draw your floor plan to scale and load it on up for you.

They even offer live chat for people like me who sometimes struggle to fully grasp the easiest of internet sites.

I may hate technology at times but there really are some terrific advantages to allowing yourself to indulge in such fascinations of modern organization.

I do hope to get remarried one day but in the meantime, I may focus on using AllSeated for my son’s Bar Mitzvah which by the way, already has a date set for 2016. Where did my baby go?

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Do you run or rest the day after a race?

Who is currently planning a wedding?

What internet tools do you use to keep you organized?

AllSeated and I will be working together for future posts in regards to healthy living and event planning. This was the first post of the series and when relevant, I will share the additional posts here on my blog.

Comments

Oh that is awesome! I will be bookmarking this for future use….if I ever get asked 😛 Glad you are feeling okay after your race…I am going to check the recap after this.

I usually take two weeks straight off, but with this half marathon coming up I will keep going for a few more weeks so I have exactly 16 weeks for my marathon training….as my coach planned. He does say you should run the day after a race, as you can find anything major that is wrong and get it taken care of during your time off, rather than letting it sit there none the wiser until you start running.Tina Muir recently posted…Double Liebster Award

That’s an excellent point from your coach about running the next day. The usual soreness/stiffness may be expected but sometimes another type of pain can chime in and we should know about it. I can’t be happier to report that I basically feel normal after Sunday’s race (whatever normal is).

Depending on the intensity of the run, I like a good shake out the day after, otherwise I get too stiff. And 4 miles is my sweet spot too!. All Seated looks awesome–it definitely would have come in handy for our wedding! And you looked gorgeous!!Susie @ Suzlyfe recently posted…Moving Beyond Fear and Expectation #ToughTalk

honestly, if I had it my way I would elope! My family would be down too. After my sister’s grand extravaganza wedding/shit-show I think they would prefer if I just ran off. I don’t think Curt would be down though lol. I’ll leave the planning to him because he’s good at that. All I care about is the food, naturally 😉

lol you crack me up….I am already imagining your sister’s wedding as I am sure it resembles plenty of the Jewish weddings (and maybe my own?!) that I have attended…You and I think alike though, the food must be amazing. I wish you could have been at mine, the food was really that good and the desserts? Forget it, I had ever type of chocolate cake imaginable.

When I was younger, I used to dream about having this huge extravagant wedding with tonnes of people, buuuut the older I get, the more smaller and more intimate weddings appeal to me. I can be a stress case when it comes to planning things, and I’d rather not spend the months leading up to my wedding freaking out about seating arrangements and flowers.Amanda @ .running with spoons. recently posted…. chocolate covered raspberry oat bars .

I certainly didn’t stress the seating chart but my dad did. The only thing I really cared about were the flowers and of course the food, the food (and desserts especially) needed to be somewhere above amazing.

Your dress was beautiful! And so are you! I didn’t have a wedding my first marriage. (Mistake number 1) We ran off when we were 19. I have however been planning my pinterest, i’ll never be able to afford, one of these days weddings for about two years now.Ashley @ Kick Ash Mom.com recently posted…lessons on how to be cool

I always at least go for a walk the day after a race! Heck I normally go for a light short jog after my race just to get the lactic acid out! I get so stiff if I just sit around all day!
I love the advice you are always giving, being in my twenties myself I haven’t embarked on things such as wedding planning, but hearing about ways to simplify them and make them easier is so nice! It is like having mentors all over the place with all different advice for the future!Hilary recently posted…Nature’s Best & JavaPro Review

If you’re old, I guess that makes me old too because we’re the same age! I was beginning to think I was the only almost 40 year old amongst all these 20 somethings! I always do something the day after a race. People think I’m crazy when I’ve mentioned it before, but I get really stiff and cramped. I try to walk, swim or bike at a moderate pace.

Hi! I’m Meredith!

Welcome to my blog! I'm an avid runner/self-proclaimed Pure Barre addict living in New York with a love for good food and fashion. Please join me as I run through divorced motherhood sharing my foodie moments, fashion favorites, race recaps and everything in between!

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*Although I have completed the Professional Certificate Program in Sports Nutrition and Performance through the School of Professional Development at Stonybrook University, I am not a registered Dietitian or Nutritionist. The health advice, opinion and information I provide in this blog is based upon my knowledge, beliefs, experiences and what works for my family and me.

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